Game apparatus



1N6 Model.) Y

J. OMWAKE. GAME APPARATUS.

N6. 561,062. 6 P6666666 May'ZB, 1896.

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS AN DRLW B GRAHANLPNUTO umo. WASHINGTON QC,

' PATENT FFICE.

JOHN OMWAKE, OF CINCINNATI,- 01110.

GAM E APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 561 ,062, dated May 26, 1896. Application filed August 18,1895. Serial No. 559,136. R m del-l To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN OMWAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, Hamilton county, in the State of Ohio, have invented an Improvem ent in Duplicate-Whist Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of the same.

My invention relates to apparatus used in playing the game known as duplicate whist, and has for its object to produce a device for containing the original hands until it is desired to again use the cards in making the duplicate playJ To this end my invention consists in the construction of duplicate-whist apparatus, hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a face view of a duplicate-whist apparatus embodying my invention, the cover thereof being removed and shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, being also a projection of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the cover or sheath of the apparatus.

Various apparatuses have been devised heretofore for use in playing the game of duplicate whist; but they are more or less complicated and cumbersome and expensive to manufacture.

By my invention I obviate the disadvantages incidental to structures heretofore devised by providing a box or container consisting of receptacles for the hands superposed one upon another and arranged in stepshaped order or position.

In the drawings, A designates the container, which consists of series of receptacles a, a, a and a These receptacles are of substantially the size of the playing-cards, and so proportioned that the cards may be readily inserted into the receptacles or withdrawn therefrom. The receptacles are laid together one upon anotherthat is to say, superposed and secured together in any suitable manner. These receptacles are of substantially the same size and are closed at one end, as at a a, a, and 00 and open at the opposite ends. The end 04 of the receptacle a extends slightly beyond the end (L20 of the receptacle a. The end 61. of the receptacle a extends slightly beyond the end (L21 of the receptacle a. The end 06 of the receptacle a extends slightly beyond the end a of the receptacle a These lastmentioned ends of the receptacles are the open ends, and by referring to Fig. 2 it will be observed that this arrangement of the open ends of the receptacles and the bottoms thereof give to the container a step-shaped appearance, so that the cards which may be placed in each receptacle will be supported by the bottom thereof, so that the top edges of the cards extend above the top edges of the cards in the next adjacent receptacle-that is to say, the top edges of the cards which may be placed in the receptacle a will extend above the top edges of the cards placed in the receptacle a. In a similar manner the top ends or edges of the cards in the receptacle (1 will extend above the top edge of the cards in the receptacle a, and in the same manner the top edges of the cards in the receptacle a will extend above the top edges of the cards in the receptacle a By this means each assemblage of cards contained in the individual receptacles will present a free end to be grasped by the fingers, so that the assemblages of cards may be independently removed from the several receptacles so as to preserve the individuality of the assemblage. To facilitate this removal, a portion of the walls of the receptacles are cut away in order to leave a series of finger-openings extending down to substantially the same level, so as to constitute a single slot B extending through the container, that the assemblages of cards in the various receptacles may be removed individually and successively, beginning with the assemblage which is contained in the receptacle a In order to further facilitate the playing of the game, the projecting edges of the Walls of the various receptacles are marked to designate the location of the hands or assemblages of cards at the beginning of the duplicate play and What hands should be placed in the various receptacles upon the completion of the original play. Thus the projecting edge of the front wall of the receptacle a is marked on one side, a Original, 4th hand, north, dealer, and on the other side, a, Duplicate, 3rd hand, north. In a similar manner the 'compartment a is marked on one side, (L31, Original, 1st hand,

east, lead, and on the other side, a, Duplicate, lth hand, east, dealer. The receptacle a is marked at a Original, 2nd hand, south, and at a Duplicate, 1st hand,south, lead and the receptacle a is marked Original, 3rd hand, west at a, and at a Duplicate, 2nd hand, west.

It will be observed that the designations of the original play are all located on one side of the slot B and the designations of the duplicate play are all located on the other side of the slot 13, thus facilitating the proper use of the apparatus. The containers and covers may also be identified by marking them at b with a suitable index, such as Deal 1, &c.

The mode of using my apparatus will be obvious from the description: Four players first take their positions at the table before beginning the original play. These places at the table are designated North, East, South, lVest. The players determine who shallbe the first to deal. For example, an evenings play of duplicate whist may consist of from twelve to twenty-four or more deals, making as many original and duplicate plays as the players think they can get through with in one evening, or sometimes all the original plays are made at one sitting, and the cards are put away intact without being disturbed so that the duplicate plays can be made at another sitting. Hence this will require as many packs of cards and as many of these step-shaped containers as will be required to make a small or large set of duplicate whist. Starting with deal 1, according to the drawings, the lettering A, A, A, and A indicates the location of the players at the table. The lettering on the right side of the container, A A, 1 and A, shows to what receptacle the handsmust be returned after the original play is made.

In making the original play the player sitting at the north side of the table is known as the dealer or fourth hand. He takes the entire pack of cards, shuflies them, and deals them in the regular way to each player. Vhen the cards are all dealt out, the player at the east side of the table becomes the first hand. or leader, as designated A and leads the first card in the original play. Each player instead of throwing his card to the center of the table lays it down directly in front of him on the table, face up, so that when the entire thirteen hands in the deal have played each players cards will be in consecutive order, one on top of the other. The original playis then finished, and the hand held by the dealer in the original play, A, is put into the receptacle A for duplicate play, A is put into A, A is put into A and A is put into A The container is then covered up with the cover, Fig. 1, and it is laid aside until the players wish to make the duplicate play. The number, deal 1, is not required to be placed 011 the outside of the cover. Sometimes players prefer that the number of the deal should be hidden, or, say, placed on the under side of the container, so that in taking out the cards for the duplicate play the players would not know what deal they were playing out. This prevents any player with a good memory from remembering the hands in the different deals. There is no shuffling of cards before making the duplicate play, and the hands must be returned after the original play is made to their proper receptacles, according to the lettering on the right-hand side of the container, as explained above.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new and useful article of: manufacture, the herein-described duplicate-whist apparatus consisting of a series of receptacles of the same size and of substantially the size and shape of a playing-card, each open at one end, and secured superposed one to another and having their open and closed ends arranged in step-shaped order, so that cards of the same size in the different receptacles will be maintained in 'step-sha1i)ed order the walls of the receptacles having finger-openings extending down to substantially the same level, and which constitute a single slot extending throughout the series of receptacles, marks indicating the original hands placed upon the walls of the receptacles to one side of fingeropen in gs, marks indicating the duplicate hands placed on the walls of the receptacles on the opposite side of fingeropenings to that of the original hand, and an outer casing for retaining the separate receptacles in their proper positions and having thereon the ind ication of the deal, snbstantiall y as described.

JOIIVN' ()MWAK It. \Vitn csses:

F REDERICK IIORMAN, WILLIAM M. 'linnnnnax. 

